Affectionately known as the Dream Team VI, the Nigeria Under-23 national team that will do battle at the Olympics will contain three overage players, as per the rules, but the selectors have not yet decided who those individuals will be.
The rules of the Olympic men’s football competition state that each of the countries qualified to take part in the games can select three players who are over the age of 23.
This decision is not one that is taken lightly, as the coaches involved need to consider the squad as a whole before deciding on the players who would strengthen the team, based on their availability.
The Nigerian selectors have not yet made this important decision, and with the Olympics in Rio set for August, they still have some time to do so, but preparations for the rest of the squad are continuing in earnest.
Assistant coach Fatai Amoo has confirmed that the three overage players are yet to be decided, as well as the final selection of U23 players, revealing to FootballLive that coach Samson Siasia will make the final decision on those matters in due course.
CompleteSports reports that the team recently returned from the Suwon four-team tournament in South Korea, where beat Honduras 3-1 but disappointed with losses in the other two games, including a 1-0 defeat against the hosts and a 6-2 massacre at the hands of Denmark.
The next leg of their preparations will see them travel to South Africa, before training camps in England and the United States of America. After those preparations are concluded, the team will leave Atlanta to join the other Olympic men’s teams in Brazil, according to Goal.
Nigeria, South Africa and Algeria are the three African teams that will travel to Rio to represent Africa in the men’s Olympic football tournament.
The Dream Team VI have been drawn in Group B, alongside Sweden, Colombia and Japan.
Nigerian fans have been disappointed in recent times by the failure of the national team to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament set for Gabon early next year, with Egypt managing to snatch qualification in their group.
A good showing from the Dream Team VI in Brazil would be a great way to restore belief in Nigerian football. They will look to replicate the feat achieved by the Nigerian team at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, where they emerged as gold medal winners.